


A Four-Part Tale of Confusion (and love)

by PaladinoFandoms



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Confusion, F/M, I had such fun writing this, I hope I didn’t mischaracterize Alya, is that a word? No? Who cares (not me), love square
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-24
Updated: 2017-12-24
Packaged: 2019-02-19 22:10:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,305
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13133247
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PaladinoFandoms/pseuds/PaladinoFandoms
Summary: All Marinette wants is to go to patrol with her partner. But when Alya gets involved, things spiral into something much, much more complicated.





	A Four-Part Tale of Confusion (and love)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [amiraculousladybug](https://archiveofourown.org/users/amiraculousladybug/gifts).



> The ML Big Bang community had a Secret Santa as well, so here’s a gift for amiraculousladybug!! I hope you (and everyone else as well) enjoy it; I for one had a lot of fun writing it :D

All Marinette wants is to go to patrol with her partner. It's a nice night, not too warm but not too cold, either. It's perfect for races to Notre Dame and late night talks and laughs.

Granted, no one knows about her patrols, seeing as they're supposed to be secret. So to be completely honest, Marinette can't blame anyone who unknowingly interrupts. But still, can't a girl ask for a quiet night?

The answer, she learns, is no. At least, not when Alya is involved.

  
Part One: Ladynoir

The fateful day is a Friday night, when she's ready to meet Chat for patrol. Now that they know each other's’ identities, patrol has become less of an actual duty and more of a chance for them to hang out.

If she’s completely honest, it was never a real duty in the first place.

Cautiously checking her room, Marinette confirms that it's empty before heading to her balcony and calling Tikki.

“Ready, Tikki?” She asks.

The ladybug kwami smiles up at her, twirling gracefully in the air.

“Tikki, spots on!”

With a flash of pink light, a red and black suit forms over her body. Ladybug puts a foot on the balcony railing, ready to push off and look for her partner when she hears a soft thump behind her. Leathery appendages cover her eyes as a familiar voice sing-songs, “Guess who?”

“Hmm,” Ladybug teases. “Could it be my favorite person in all of Paris, Adrien Agreste?”

“You wound me, m’lady,” Chat laughs, withdrawing his hands. “Ready to start patrol?”

“Ready as ever,” she replies, turning around and leaning in to tap his cheek affectionately.

Her hand freezes an inch from his face when she sees Alya standing behind Chat. Alya’s mouth hangs open, finger shaking slightly as she raises it to point at Ladybug.

“Alya?” She asks cautiously. She doesn't want to give away too much, just in case Alya knows less than expected.

Chat turns around, taking a step back to stand beside her.

“It was you,” her friend whispers, ignoring the call of her name. Her voice rises, becoming more shrill as she continues. “The entire time, it was you?”

Ladybug drags a hand down her face, grimacing. “Alya- why are you even still here?”

“Don't you dare ‘Alya’ me,” her friend shrieks. “I was here to study, and all of a sudden you push me out. I come back because I forgot my textbook to- to- you think you can just, before my very own eyes, do this?”

“This is my house, Alya,” Ladybug deadpans warily. There's not much point denying it now; she'd only dig herself a deeper hole if she did.

“Technicalities,” Alya says, waving a hand in the air irritably. “You could tell me that Chat Noir was secretly Adrien Agreste right here, right now, and I still wouldn't care. Don't change the subject!”

Next to her, she sees Chat flinch ever so slightly and slips her hand into his, squeezing it in comfort. This action, unfortunately, is noticed by Alya. She eyes it, a victorious eyebrow raised high on her forehead.

“You better have an explanation, Marinette Dupain-Cheng,” Alya snaps, jabbing a finger at her. “Now tell me, why exactly are you kissing Chat Noir in a Ladybug cosplay suit?”

 

Ladybug freezes, shock and confusion from Alya’s question still running rampant. “E-excuse me?”

The fact of the matter is that while she, Marinette, is indeed in a Ladybug suit, Alya shouldn't have recognized her as Marinette in a suit, but rather as Marinette actually being Ladybug.

Neither, she thinks, did she actually kiss Chat Noir. What on earth is going on?

“Every Ladynoir kiss was you and not actually Ladybug!” Alya rants, eyes wide. “You never told me about this. What, do best friends not count for anything today?”

“Ladynoir?” Chat echoes in confusion. “What's that?”

Both girls deign to ignore him in light of the situation.

“Why are you kissing Chat Noir in a Ladybug cosplay suit?” Alya repeats, almost insultingly slowly.

Ladybug has to stifle a hysterical laugh, not quite believing the situation.

“I- uh, Chat and I…” Ladybug flounders a bit before deciding on a lie and hoping Alya would buy it. “We're… more than friends.”

There's a beat of silence as Alya stares at her. Chat moves to slip a hand around her shoulders, squeezing it in silent solidarity.

“That's right,” Chat chirps, and Ladybug sighs a breath of relief, thinking her partner has caught on. “We’re best fr-”

“Dating,” Ladybug cuts in firmly, laughing awkwardly. “We're dating. Yup. Us! Dating.”

Alya stares blankly at them, blinking slowly. “Dating.”

Chat’s smile grows slightly strained as he repeats the word in confirmation.

“But what about Adri-”

“Who?” Ladybug asks, pasting a smile on her face. “I'm sorry, you must be mistaken.”

Alya’s face is dubious, and Ladybug can tell that her friend doesn't believe her one bit.

“Say I believe you,” Alya says slowly, staring at Ladybug. “It still doesn't explain the suit.”

“I was afraid of the backlash that might come from dating a superhero,” she fibs. “If the press, or god forbid, Hawkmoth found out, we'd be in pretty big trouble. So I talked to Ladybug, and she agreed to let me make and wear a copy of her suit.”

Alya narrows her eyes at Ladybug, scrutinizing her face before moving on to stare at Chat Noir with the same intensity.

“I won't interrupt your… activities for now,” Alya warns, “but the next time I see you, Marinette Dupain-Cheng, you have hell of a lot of explaining to do.”

Ladybug smiles weakly, sagging against Chat’s hold when Alya leaves.

“We're… dating?” Chat Noir asks cautiously.

“It wasn’t the best thing to say,” Ladybug admits. “But we’ve gotta stick with it now.”

“I can’t believe Alya bought that,” Chat marvels.

“She didn’t,” Ladybug grimaces. “When she interrogates me tomorrow, I expect your full support.”

“Me?” Chat squawks. “Your problem; you deal with it! I’m not getting within fifty feet of an interrogation-mode Alya.”

Smart boy, Ladybug thinks, and she’s ready to fire back a reply when the tolling of a loud bell signals that it’s eight already. They still haven’t started patrol yet.

She pitches her yo-yo at a nearby lamppost and glances back at her partner with a devious grin.

“Last one to the Tower pays on our first date!” She shouts, swinging off.

Chat’s insulted yowl echoes behind her, and as she hits a roof running, an unbidden thought comes to her head.

 _Dating, huh? Maybe I wouldn’t mind._  

  
Part Two: Marichat

The next day, as Marinette is dismissed to lunch, she catches sight of Adrien. Making sure his eyes are on her, she tucks a lock of hair behind her ear to bring focus to her plain black studs.

Adrien tilts his head but waggles his fingers in greeting from across the room, light glinting off his silver ring.

Good, she thinks, and waves her phone in the air.

Adrien nods at her and then disappears into the swirling crowd of hungry students. Marinette turns around as well, heading for a less crowded hallway to safely text in.

(11:54) M: hey, wanna check if that black cat you found is still in the alley next to school?

The ‘read’ symbol pops up, and so does a response not too long after.

_(11:54) A: not quite sure why you’re so interested in him but sure if you want_

(11:55) M: meet you there

Shutting her phone off with a click, Marinette quickly exits the school, making sure that no one is following her before ducking into the alley she had mentioned.

“What’s going on?” Chat Noir asks, dropping down into the alley with a barrel roll.

“Show-off,” she teases. “You’re taking me out on a date.”

Chat turns surprisingly red, spluttering and leaning away from her. He opens and closes his mouth like a fish, unable to form words.

“C’mon, chaton. Isn’t this what you’re always asking for?” Marinette asks. “If we want Alya to believe our dating lie, we have to act like we are dating. So come on. We’re going on a date.”

“So, uh,” he manages to say, “where are we going, exactly?”

“You’re the one with the magical supersuit,” Marinette retorts. “You decide.”

“What are we even going to do?” Chat asks. “I’m going to need to feed Plagg extra cheese for this; it’d better be worth it.”

“You decide,” Marinette repeats.

Chat Noir rolls his eyes, putting on a dramatic demeanor.

“Come, my Princess,” he winks, bending down in an exaggerated bow and placing a kiss on Marinette’s hand. “Let us go share some spaghetti… together.”

Marinette struggles to control her smile, falling into her given role of a princess.

“My dear chaton,” she says, swooning, and Chat instinctively stretches his arms out catch her. “Might that have been… a Lady and the Tramp reference? Never thought I’d see the day you became an alley dog- or well, cat, but here we are.”

“How you offend me!” Chat cries, pretending to wipe a tear off his face. “I am nothing less thana fine aristocat.”

“Then act like one,” Marinette fires back playfully.

“Meouch!” Chat exclaims, waggling his eyebrows. “M’lady has claws!”

“Not a princess?” Marinette teases, and immediately regrets her words when she hears Chat’s response.

“A rose by any other name would smell as sweet,” Chat quotes, and pulls Marinette into a twirl that ends up with her against his chest.

Marinette breaks her hands free from his hold, ringing his bell as her arms fall to her sides.

“If you’re suggesting that we elope and run away, I’ll have to decline, Chat.”

“The pain of rejection,” he mourns, clutching his chest dramatically.

Marinette laughs, rising onto her toes to give Chat Noir a little cheek pat. “Pick some place to eat, kitty. Maybe food will soothe your wounds.”

“The Italian place near my house?” Chat offers, eyes hopeful.

“Chat, you know I’m not a big fan of tomato sauce,” Marinette grumbles. “And our goal is to get Alya to notice us, but there’s no chance she’s going there. She never eats Italian food.”

“Only because she knows you don’t like it,” Chat wheedles. “Please, Princess?”

Marinette groans when faced with Chat’s kitty eyes, but a thought comes to her mind and she grins deviously.

“But chaton,” she says, turning to look up at him. She opens her eyes, blinking slowly, trying to maximize the effect.

“You’re not allowed to use chaton like that,” he whines, covering his face with a clawed hand. It doesn’t manage to completely cover the blush spreading on his face, and Marinette grins in victory.

“Now, minou,” she says in satisfaction. “What about… the cafe two blocks north of here? With the soup that you love so much?”

“Tempting,” Chat admits. “But think- Italian food.”

“That doesn’t work on me; I don’t like Italian food,” Marinette reminds. “Do I need to use the eyes again?”

“Aha!” Chat exclaims. “So you do admit to using your eyes as an unfair advantage?”

“Gotta use them if I know I’ve got them, pretty boy. Shouldn’t the model of the two of us know that?” She teases.

“You’re gorgeous, Marinette,” Chat states plainly. “I may be a model, but you’re absolutely gorgeous.”

Marinette lets a small squeak slip from her lips, able to practically feel the blush on her cheeks.

“I- uh-”

“You know that, right?” Chat Noir asks, his brow furrowing. “Y-you- don’t take Chloé’s words to heart, Marinette, she doesn’t know what she’s talking about, okay? You’re literally the most awesome girl I’ve heard the pleasure of knowing, and-”

He peers closer at the frozen girl, capturing her face between his hands. If even possible, Marinette’s blush grows stronger.

“Marinette?”

“Chat, what the hell, you can’t just say that,” she shrieks, pulling back and batting at his hands. “Do you- are you aware of what you’re saying?”

“Is there something wrong?” Chat asks, face crumpling in worry.

“Fine,” Marinette dismisses, pointedly refusing to look at him. “We can go to the Italian place.”

Chat peers at her oddly, but nods.

“Would the lady like a ride?” He asks, extending his baton. “I’ve gotten good Chatsportation service reviews. Get it? Transportation?”

Marinette never thought she’d ever think this, but she’s grateful to Chat’s puns for dissolving the relative tension.

“That was a stretch and you know it,” she declares, accepting Chat’s hand. “An awful pun, if I’ve ever heard one.”

“All puns are sacred and beautiful,” Chat Noir argues, and Marinette lets loose a laugh.

“Whatever you say, chaton,” she hums. “Whatever you say.”

 

Outside, Alya walks by on her way to get lunch. Marinette left to go somewhere, leaving her alone to pick whatever food she should choose to eat. She was craving… something Italian, maybe. That sounded nice.

Hasn’t Adrien recommended this place near his house? Alya thinks. Might be a good choice.

She pauses outside an alley, poking her head in to see what the commotion was about. Inside, Marinette and Chat Noir are… she’s not sure what on earth it is that they’re doing, actually, but it looks like some convoluted form of flirting. Marinette is clinging onto Chat’s back as they ascend into the sky, talking loudly about some subject that’s lost to the wind.

Alya sighs, continuing on her way. She might’ve been skeptical about it at first, but it was clear now. Those two are definitely dating.

 

Part Three: Adrienette

“You might as well detransform,” Marinette says, jumping off of Chat’s back. She lands on the ground with a soft thump, smoothing her clothes with her hands. “Alya’s not going to be here, and it’d be awkward for people to see me having lunch with the famous superhero Chat Noir. Think of what the tabloids would say.”

“Then you’d be having lunch with the famous supermodel Adrien Agreste,” he points out, but does as she suggests.

“But Chat Noir is so much more impressive,” she says, pretending to be a star-struck fan. “He’s dashing and heroic, and he’s saved me from an akuma at least three times now.”

Marinette lowers her voice to a conspiratorial whisper, grinning. “Rumors say he’s ripped, too. Practically shredded, they say.”

She emphasizes her point with a jab to Adrien’s stomach, who curls in on himself with a yelp. “Ooh, is someone ticklish?”

“You wish,” he says, and darts away from her reaching fingers to walk into the restaurant. He isn’t able to dodge a final poke, but leads them into the restaurant with no other problem.

They’re seated and have their orders taken in practically no time. With Adrien’s name helping smooth along the process, they receive their food in fourteen minutes and twenty three seconds (an amused Marinette had timed the whole event) and began eating.

Marinette is laughing at a comment Adrien had made, tears welling up in her eyes as she clutches her stomach. He laughs with her, muffling his mouth with a napkin, when all of a sudden he goes silent.

“Adrien?” Marinette whispers. “What’s wrong?”

“Alya,” he replies grimly. “At the counter. It looks like she’s ordering to go though, so if we stay calm and act normal, everything should be fine.”

Marinette forces herself to swallow her bite of chicken, trying to keep herself calm like Adrien had advised. Breathe in, breathe out; continue eating. But her fingers won’t obey, and as she lowers her hand to scoop up another bite, her fork drops onto her plate with a loud clatter. This, of course, attracts Alya’s attention.

“Adrien? Marinette? What are you two doing here together?” Alya Shrieks.

“I-” Marinette glances at Adrien, not sure what to say.

He licks his lips nervously, blurting out an excuse. “I, uh, I mean… can’t a guy take his friend out for lunch without being questioned?”

Alya sniffs disbelievingly, leaning over their table. “Oh, a lunch date? Just you two? Alone? Tell me, Agreste, what’s the truth?”

Adrien squirms under Alya’s unwavering gaze, and Marinette decides to jump in and help him.

“Alya, don’t-”

Alya ignores her, continuing to look at Adrien. “What’s going on, Adrien? Or do you really not know?”

Adrien shrugs helplessly, casting a nervous glance at Marinette. She winces back at him, having absolutely no clue what Alya is leadingup to.

“She’s using Chat Noir as flirting practice for her dates with you!” Alya declares loudly, and Adrien’s eyes widen. He starts coughing, covering his mouth as he hacks.

“Did you know that, Adrien? Did you know?”

“I-” Adrien smothers a hysterical laugh with a napkin. “No, I can’t say that I did.”

“Alya, could you, uh, go, please? So Adrien and I can talk this out?” Marinette gasps out between hiccuping giggles.

Alya only departs at Adrien’s nod, frowning at the two before grabbing a tentatively offered take-out box and stomping out.

“I can’t believe you would do that to me, Marinette,” Adrien wails dramatically. “What did I do?”

“It’s not you, it’s me,” Marinette sobs, and a waiter arrives at their table hesitantly.

“Monsieur Agreste, deepest apologies for… intruding on your, ah, private moment. But you might want to, say, leave?”

Marinette and Adrien are ushered out after paying, collapsing into each others’ arms once they reach a public bench.

“Chat Noir and I are ditching you, and we’re going to start dating,” Adrien declares.

Marinette crumples in laughter, tears streaming down her face.

“I cannot believe that just happened,” she admits. “This is rom-com level stuff, you know?”

“Definitely,” Adrien agrees with a sigh. He stands up, offering her an arm. “Would the lady like to be escorted back to school?”

“How kind,” Marinette responds, linking arms with him.

The two walk in silence, save for the occasional random giggle. They’ve almost reached the school when she’s tapped on the arm, and she turns to look at Adrien questioningly.

“Why would Alya think you’d want to date me?”

Marinette nearly chokes, thumping her chest as she coughs loudly. “What would make you think that I’d, uh, hypothetically want to date you?”

Adrien shrugs, and suddenly their arms aren’t entangled anymore. “On your balcony the other day she mentioned civilian me after you said we were dating, and just now…”

Marientte sighs quietly in relief. “You know how Alya is,” she fibs. “Always trying to set people up.”

“So you don’t like like me,” Adrien concludes under his breath, but she can still hear his words.

“What? I- I like you perfectly fine!”

“As a friend? I know, but you’ve always rejected me, even after we revealed each other.”

Marientte’s mind swirls. Rejection? She hadn’t ever reject- oh. She was never aware that Adrien was seriously into her, as Chat or not. She smacks her forehead, shaking her head in exasperation.

“Oh, boy,” she groans. “We were both super oblivious, weren’t we?”

“H-huh?” Adrien stutters. “You didn’t know that I, uh- liked you?”

“Uh, not… really?” Marinette says slowly, drawing out the word.

“You mean the only reason you rejected Chat-me was because you didn’t know I liked you in the first place?!”

“Maybe?” She admits, ducking her head in shame. “That, and the fact that I had a blindingly huge crush on Adrien-you.”

Marinette immediately slams her hands over her mouth, eyes wide. Adrien stares at her in a similar manner, shocked into silence. After a while, he regains his speech, stammering out a disbelieving response.

“You… liked me?”

Marinette nods hesitantly.

“You liked me,” Adrien repeats slowly.

He turns to Marinette, a bewildered look on his face. “Why were we so dumb?”

“We can be dumb together,” Marinette offers with a half-hearted laugh.

Adrien blinks. “A-are you asking me out?”

“Do you want to be asked out?”

Adrien laughs, a disbelieving grin on his face. “Hell yeah,” he responds breathlessly. “But- Alya’s pretty much onto us now. She’s seen pretty much every side of us together.”

“That’s going to be an awkward conversation with her,” Marinette agrees. “But for the time being… I don’t think she’s seen Ladybug and Adrien together yet, has she?”

Adrien’s conspiratorial grin is the only answer she needs.

 

Part Four: Ladrien

Ladybug perches precariously on a window ledge, rapping on Adrien’s bedroom window.

He shows on the other side barely a second later, opening the window with a click of a remote.

“M’lady,” he greets, leaning in and offering her is hand.

Ladybug smiles, dropping onto the floor, and pulls him into a full-on kiss. She smirks at the dazed look on Adrien’s face, standing on her tiptoes to ruffle his hair.

It had been a month since they decided to date, a whirlwind of awkward first kisses, cuddling, and late night visits. Of course, they had to keep everything under wraps while they weren’t Ladybug and Adrien (after all, that had resulted in the whole Alya mess), but it wasn’t too difficult.

But if Marinette couldn’t resist giving Adrien a quick peck on her way to class, well… Alya couldn’t see everything.

“Hey, handsome,” Ladybug greets. “Care for a night out?”

“Forward as usual,” Adrien notes mildly. “It’s still bright out, though. You sure this is safe?”

Ladybug pauses, demeanor suddenly shy. “Ah- I was planning to, um. Reveal us to Alya today. If that was, you know, okay with you?”

Adrien blinks in surprise, mouth dropping open.

“Reveal this,” He asks slowly, waving his hand at the two of them, “or this?”

Adrien gestures at his whole body, eyes blown wide when Ladybug indicates at his body.

“O-our identities too?!”

“If we’re going to reveal us dating then it’s going to be difficult to explain why we’re not mad at our other selves,” Ladybug reasons hesitantly. “But if we reveal that we’re, you know, us, then it should be okay?”

Adrien gives no response, and Ladybug cringes. She knew this might’ve been a bad idea, and hurries to fix it.

“Of course, we don’t have to if you don’t want to, but it would just be easier-”

“It’s fine,” he reassures. “It’s just- Alya is the first non-Miraculous person who’s going to know about us, so this feels really, like, big. If you know what I mean?”

Ladybug nods, huffing a smile in relief. “It’s a while until Alya goes out for her superhero hunt, so we can hang out for a bit until we meet her.”

“Superhero hunt?” Adrien echoes worriedly.

“She goes out to look for us on patrol,” Ladybug explains. “And I heard she was going to do that tonight. But we’ve still got a good hour or two until then, so what do you think of a date?”

“Sounds miraculous,” Adrien agrees with a cheeky smile.

Ladybug scoops him up with a playful groan. “Why do I continue to date you when you’re like this.”

“It’s because you looove me,” Adrien teases, and Ladybug forces a laugh as she swings out the door.

If Adrien sees the blush on her cheeks, he doesn’t mention it.

 

Ladybug is laughing, sticking out her tongue at Adrien.

“Punning is an under-appreciated art form,” he defends, pointing a croissant at her.

“Is not,” Ladybug defends, sighing in defeat when Adrien raises an eyebrow at her. “You’d get along marvelously with my dad.”

“Meeting the parents?” Adrien gasps dramatically, clutching his hands to his chest. “What an honor!”

Ladybug grins at him. “And when, pray tell, can I meet yours?”

“Whenever he’s actually around for you to meet, I guess,” Adrien comments offhandedly, but Ladybug is surprised.

“Is- is he not around that much?”

“Gone more often than he isn’t,” Adrien admits.

”I’m sorry,” Ladybug says softly, leaning over to plant a kiss on his cheek. “You know what? Forget about Alya; we can do that another day. Right now I’m taking you to my house so that we can play Mecha Strike and eat all the food we can stuff into your stomach.”

“Aww, you’re too kind, m’lady,” Adrien coos, but his eyes give his sincerity away.

“Come on, Agreste,” Ladybug says, standing up and wrapping an arm around his waist. “We’re going home.”

They swing off, not noticing the red-headed biker that follows them.

 

Ladybug takes a more scenic route as she heads home with Adrien, a path that took more time. It was a choice she would come to regret.

She leaves Adrien on her balcony first, detransforming in her room and walking down to the bakery under the pretense of getting a snack. She greets her maman with a kiss, turns around, and bumps right into Alya.

“Alya?” She gasps, face resolving into a genuine smile. “What are you doing here?”

“The project,” Alya lies.

There’s no project.

“Right,” Marinette says slowly. She knows she can’t deny Alya’s claim without seeming suspicious, but Adrien… Adrien is in her room, and she doubts he stayed on her balcony, out of sight. “Um-”

Before she can protest, Alya grabs her arm and drags her upstairs, where she grins triumphantly jabs a finger at a confused Adrien Agreste.

“I’m onto you now,” she says. “Really, a low blow, Mari, but if it’s for the good of Ladynoir, I guess I can let it slide.”

Marinette exchanges a truly bewildered look with Adrien. “Um-”

“That’s ingenious of you, actually,” Alya continues. “I saw Ladybug bring Adrien over to your house. So if you play with Chat like that and break his heart, then he’ll go running to Ladybug, and Ladynoir will be canon while you and Adrien can live your happy lives.”

Adrien can’t help but let a snort slip from his lips, and Alya raises an arched eyebrow at him.

“Am I wrong, Agreste?”

Marinette exhales bemusedly, eyes flicking towards Adrien’s scrunched up face as he tries (and fails) to contain his laughter.

They had a lot of explaining to do.

 

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading y’all!! Kudos and comments (gasp) are greatly appreciated!!


End file.
